Nick in the AM: Richard Pryor's sex life had a twist, interviews allege

Thursday

Feb 8, 2018 at 9:18 AMFeb 8, 2018 at 9:56 AM

Nick Vlahos Journal Star reporter @vlahosnick

Good morning, troops. It's Thursday, Feb. 8.

Comic genius Richard Pryor probably is the most famous person Peoria has produced, which is saying something. It's no secret Pryor, who died in 2005, didn't exactly lead a choirboy lifestyle, from his brothel upbringing in Peoria's old Merry-Go-Round to his cocaine-fueled immolation near the Sunset Strip.

But a recent wide-ranging (to put it mildly) interview with music impresario Quincy Jones sheds some new light on Pryor's private life. So does another published talk with Pryor's widow.

The Jones interview was posted on Vulture, an entertainment website. It's a heckuva read. Jones will be 85 next month and apparently doesn't care about the ramifications of anything he says.

And he says a lot, from dealing on Michael Jackson ("I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man") to the Beatles ("They were no-playing (expletives)") to who killed JFK (the Chicago Mob).

But late in the interview comes the revelation about Pryor.

Jones claims Pryor had some sort of sexual fling with late, legendary film actor Marlon Brando, another entertainer with Illinois roots (he spent part of his youth in Evanston and Libertyville). "Q" made similar allegations about Brando and two other men, author James Baldwin and singer Marvin Gaye.

Brando's sexual appetite was described in graphic terms, too graphic for Nick in the Morning to reproduce. Slightly less graphic was an apparent confirmation from Pryor's fourth and seventh wife, one and the same.

Jennifer Lee Pryor told entertainment-gossip website TMZ that Jones' comments wouldn't shame her late husband. She said Pryor was open with friends about his bisexual tendencies. Diaries to be published later this year are to confirm that.

"It was the '70s," Jennifer Lee Pryor was quoted as saying. "Drugs were still good, especially quaaludes. If you did enough cocaine, you'd (expletive) a radiator and send it flowers in the morning."

Brando died in 2004. Neither he nor Richard Pryor are here to speak for themselves. And we've mentioned TMZ has had some credibility issues regarding some local things.

But knowing what we know about Hollywood, is any of this surprising?

Just remember it the next time some actor or actress starts lecturing the rest of us about lifestyles or politics. Although none of it makes Pryor's comedy any less hilarious.

In light of the rest of this post, the song heard on the way to work is offered without comment.

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